Isaiah 38

1 In those days hath Hezekiah been sick unto death, and come in unto him doth Isaiah son of Amoz, the prophet, and saith unto him, 'Thus said Jehovah: Give a charge to thy house, for thou [art] dying, and dost not live.'

In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death; and Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, came to him, and said to him, Set thy house in order, for thou shalt die, and not live.

2 And Hezekiah turneth round his face unto the wall, and prayeth unto Jehovah,

Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and made his supplication to Jehovah.

3 and saith, 'I pray thee, O Jehovah, remember, I pray Thee, how I have walked habitually before Thee in truth, and with a perfect heart, and that which [is] good in thine eyes I have done;' and Hezekiah weepeth — a great weeping.

And he said, I beseech thee, O Jehovah, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth, and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thine eyes! And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

4 And a word of Jehovah is unto Isaiah, saying,

Then came the word of Jehovah to Isaiah,

5 Go, and thou hast said to Hezekiah, Thus said Jehovah, God of David thy father, 'I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tear, lo, I am adding to thy days fifteen years,

Go in and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of David thy father: I have heard thy prayer; I have seen thy tears. Behold, I will add to thy life fifteen years.

6 and out of the hand of the king of Asshur I deliver thee and this city, and have covered over this city.

And I will deliver thee and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will defend this city.

7 And this [is] to thee the sign from Jehovah, that Jehovah doth this thing that He hath spoken.

And this shall be the sign to thee from Jehovah, that Jehovah will do that which he hath spoken.

8 Lo, I am bringing back the shadow of the degrees that it hath gone down on the degrees of Ahaz, by the sun, backward ten degrees:' and the sun turneth back ten degrees in the degrees that it had gone down.

Behold, I will cause the shadow upon the dial, which hath gone down upon the dial of Ahaz with the sun, to go back ten degrees. So the sun went back ten degrees, which degrees it had gone down.

9 A writing of Hezekiah king of Judah concerning his being sick, when he reviveth from his sickness:

The writing of Hezekiah, king of Judah, when he had been sick, and had recovered from his sickness.

10 'I — I said in the cutting off of my days, I go in to the gates of Sheol, I have numbered the remnant of mine years. (Sheol h7585)

I said: “Now, in the quiet of my days, shall I go down to the gates of the under-world; I am deprived of the residue of my years.” (Sheol h7585)

11 I said, I do not see Jah — Jah! In the land of the living, I do not behold man any more, With the inhabitants of the world.

I said: “No more shall I see Jehovah, Jehovah in the land of the living. I shall behold man no more Among the inhabitants of stillness.

12 My sojourning hath departed, And been removed from me as a shepherd's tent, I have drawn together, as a weaver, my life, By weakness it cutteth me off, From day unto night Thou dost end me.

My habitation is torn away and removed from me, Like a shepherd's tent; My life is rolled up as by the weaver; He cutteth me off from the thrum; Between morning and night wilt thou make an end of me!”

13 I have set [Him] till morning as a lion, So doth He break all my bones, From day unto night Thou dost end me.

I waited till morning, and like a lion Did he crush all my bones; “Between morning and night wilt thou make an end of me!”

14 As a crane — a swallow — so I chatter, I mourn as a dove, Drawn up have been mine eyes on high, O Jehovah, oppression [is] on me, be my surety.

Like a swallow or a crane, so did I twitter; I did mourn as a dove; Mine eyes failed with looking upward; “O Lord, I am in distress; O, deliver me!”

15 — What do I say? seeing He said to me, And He Himself hath wrought, I go softly all my years for the bitterness of my soul.

What shall I say? He promised it, and he hath done it; I will walk humbly all my life On account of the bitterness of my soul.

16 Lord, by these do [men] live, And by all in them [is] the life of my spirit, And Thou savest me, make me also to live,

Lord, it is thus that men live; From thee alone cometh the life of my spirit; Thou hast restored me, and caused me to live.

17 Lo, to peace He changed for me bitterness, And Thou hast delighted in my soul without corruption, For Thou hast cast behind Thy back all my sins.

Behold, my anguish is changed into ease; In love thou hast delivered me from the pit of destruction; Thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.

18 For Sheol doth not confess Thee, Death doth not praise Thee, Those going down to the pit hope not for Thy truth. (Sheol h7585)

For the under-world cannot praise thee; The realms of death cannot celebrate thee; They that go down to the pit cannot wait for thy faithfulness. (Sheol h7585)

19 The living, the living, he doth confess Thee.

The living, the living praise thee, as I do this day; The father to the children shall make known thy faithfulness.

20 Like myself to-day — a father to sons Doth make known of Thy faithfulness, O Jehovah — to save me: And my songs we sing all days of our lives In the house of Jehovah.'

Jehovah hath saved me; Therefore will we sing our songs with stringed instruments, All the days of our life, In the house of Jehovah.

21 And Isaiah saith, 'Let them take a bunch of figs, and plaster over the ulcer, and he liveth.'

Now Isaiah had said, let them take a lump of figs, and bruise them, and lay them upon the ulcer, and he shall recover.

22 And Hezekiah saith, 'What [is] the sign that I go up to the house of Jehovah!'

Hezekiah also had said, What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of Jehovah?